


See You Again

by merthurkdramas_101



Series: Spring [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Again, F/F, F/M, Ghosts, I cried so hard, I'm so sorry, M/M, Ugh, but they're not scary, epilogue of an epilogue, it's my closure, it's supposed to be happy, many tears, surprise, there are butterflies, this just kinda happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8140826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurkdramas_101/pseuds/merthurkdramas_101
Summary: Arthur Pendragon is now a 64-year-old grandpa of four grandkids and has a big, happy family. One year at a dinner party, he sees someone who he hasn't seen in over 30 years--Merlin.Made to be a part 2 of my story, Spring--an epilogue of an epilogue. aka-it's my form of closure because i always need a happy ending. I promise this is happy.Rated Teen and Up just in case :)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise?!
> 
> Okay…so I know I said I was working on something fluffier and not sad…but I couldn’t help it. I needed a happy ending to this story. Even though this is probably not happy at all. But it gave me some closure? I don’t know, all I know is that this makes me feel better about killing Merlin. Please don’t hate me? I hope y’all enjoy it!
> 
> Also…really, I can’t even tell you guys how much love I have for all of y’all. All the comments and kudos and SO MUCH FUCKING LOVE it’s so sufFOCATING BUT I LOVE IT SO MUCH THANK YOU. If there’s anything I can do for any of you (within reason)—beta or looking over something, please let me know and I would be MORE than happy to do it for you guys. I love each and every one of you guys who clicks open my story and reads it. I don’t even care if it’s a sentence. I appreciate it <333
> 
> Anywho…here’s this thing. Please, please, please try not to hate me. If you have any comments, criticisms, hate (please be gentle and not too aggressive), please let me know! They’re always welcome <33
> 
> PS- I AM working on another, fluffier, and overall much happier fic…it’s just not quite there yet :3 
> 
> PPS- for anyone who hasn’t read my other story, Spring, you should probably read that before this. This is kind of an epilogue to that :) 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Merlin characters used in this story. Adam is an original character. This piece does not have any affiliations with the Indian movies I used as a reference for Spring. 
> 
> WARNINGS: I don’t know how some people get, but there are mentions of ghosts in this fic. Also, Arthur scares some kids by using something I made up as the Scare Monster. It’s not real, but just warning y’all.

“Adam! Gilli! You know better than to scare Grandpa Arthur!” a voice calls from behind him. He smirks at his grandsons over his shoulder where he knew they coming. Their chortles and snickers were barely concealed, and Gilli was always more than a little clumsy.

“Aww, mum but we were almost there!”

Sefa came charging towards her twins, grabbed both of their arms and pulled them from behind where Arthur was sitting in his big, old, cushy red chair so they could stand in front of him.

“I’ve told you boys multiple times to stop scaring your Grandpa. It’s not good for him! Turn around and say you’re sorry,” she said firmly. When she looked up at Arthur, though, she winked and he barely hid a smirk before he went on with his plan.

Gilli and Adam were both in pre-school and had just learned about Halloween. Apparently, scaring people was more amusing than going around in costumes and asking for candy. They took to it at home, and when they were bored with that, they even started it in school. Leon and Sefa were at a loss of what to do until Arthur came up with a plan—to scare them from scaring once and for all.

“We’re sorry, Grandpa Arthur,” Adam and Gilli said in unison.

Arthur tried to hold down his laugh as he continued.

“It’s all right boys. But I hope you’re not scaring people too much. I wouldn’t want you to turn into…” he looked to the right, then left before motioning for them to come closer, “…the Scare Monster,” he whispered.

They tried to look brave, Arthur could tell.

“Hah! There’s no such thing as a Scare Monster, Grandpa.”

“That’s what the first Scare Monster said. Isn’t that right Sefa?” He looked up to her and caught her face turn from very amused to dead serious in a matter of seconds.

“Mum? Is that true?”

She nods her head. “Your father told me about him, and I nearly peed myself because I was so scared, boys.”

They looked terrified as they faced Arthur again. “Do you want to know what happened?”

Arthur could see the spark in their eyes, eager to learn, but terrified of what they might find. He almost felt bad for them, but the student who was sent home because he had too bad of a fright was one casualty too many for Arthur.

“The Scare Monster stared off like you guys. He loved scaring people and laughed at them when they screamed and ran away. But one day, he ran out of people to scare, so he tried to scare himself. And he was scared, but he got so scared that one day, he died.”

He looked at his two grandsons, eyes wide with fear.

“They say that whoever scares people too many times will turn into the Scare Monster one day, and they won’t be happy at all.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leon and Morgana leaning against the wall, laughing into their fists. He held back a smirk as he turned his eyes to Adam and Gilli, both leaning forward as Arthur came closer.

“Really?” Gilli asks him.

Arthur nods solemnly. “There is a way to make sure you don’t become the Scare Monster though. Do you want to hear?”

They nod their heads.

“First, you cannot scare people at all. And if you have already scared people, you need to apologize to them from the bottom of your hearts. Second, you need to be scared one time. A really big scare so you can make it even.”

“We’ll do it, Grandpa. We swear!” Adam says.

“You sure? The Scare Monster will know if you’re lying.”

“I promise,” says Adam.

“I promise, too,” Gilli repeats.

Arthur nods his head and leans back into his chair. “I trust you boys. Now go play.”

They both climb up onto his lap and give him a kiss on each cheek, and run off to their room.

Arthur smiles at them go, feeling warmer than the fire by his side—he’s happy. Full, even.

“That was some story, Dad. Did it take a while to figure out?” Leon said between laughs.

“Really, such an original name,” Morgana said from behind him.

Sefa laughed and went to her husband’s side as Freya wandered in from the kitchen, snickering and holding a glass of water and pills.

“Anything for my grandsons. Now, where’s Mordred? I haven’t seen him since we cut Mithian’s birthday cake.”

“Oh, he’s been looking forward to this for ages. He’s probably in the boys’ room, waiting for—”

Suddenly, two high-pitched screams came from the hall and everyone in the living room barked in laughter. Mordred, Morgana’s 11-year-old son, comes running into the living room laughing as he’s being chased by Adam and Gilli with their stuffed animals.

“Don’t you think that was a little harsh on them?” Freya said as he handed Arthur the pills and water, but she was laughing all the same. He cradles her cheek in a thank you, and she smiles back at him.

“I know my kids, Freya. Adam and Gilli are _notorious_ at school for being the pranksters. Even at home, they get me and Leon from time to time.”

“They’re conniving little things, they are. They have planning boards in their rooms! They’re so strategic.”

“I’m pretty sure they get that from you, Leon,” Arthur says. “Don’t forget how many babysitters you went through at 8-years-old.”

“Th-that’s beside the point, dad,” he said, but everyone broke out in laughs.

“I’m sure all they need is a Merlin in their life to help straighten them out,” Leon said softly.

“They’ve got you, son,” Arthur said as he gripped Leon’s hand. “You’re far more competent than Merlin could have ever been.”

They all laughed.

“Remember that time when he burned half of the dish towel?” Morgana said, eyes smirking at Arthur, who immediately ducked his face in his hands.

“Please, let’s not talk about this.”

“What happened?” Sefa said curiously.

“My father came down one morning and was very—happy—to see Merlin. They were engaged in a little ‘wordplay’ but didn’t even realize the towel Merlin was using to clean the counter was right by the pasta that was cooking. I ran downstairs as soon as I heard shouting and found them both leaping in the air, trying to shake out the fire,” Leon said between chuckles.

“That is _not_ what happened, Leon. I—we—he was just—”

“I realized later on in life that they both weren’t wearing pants. I was so traumatized in my teen years…”

Arthur stayed quiet as he listened to his family bring Merlin back to life, a small smile on his face. Even after 34 years, Merlin lived strong and loud in the hearts of his family. Almost every dinner, the topic of Merlin would just happen to pop up, and everyone had their fair share of stories to tell. They never got old—he was immortal.

Arthur thinks about his life now and how it would’ve been if Merlin was still here, how much he could have seen.

Morgana and Freya were married right out of college, and in her speech, he mentioned how she probably would have never made it this far without her family, and her best friend Merlin. Leon married five years after and made a toast to both of his dads, without whom he would never be the man he is today—a man who would do anything for the person he loves.

Even on death beds, Merlin was recognized. Alice said she was grateful to Merlin for letting her last few years be happy ones, and when his mother passed, she pulled Arthur close and said, “I’ll say hello to Merlin for you.” Gaius passed not long after Alice, but held Arthur’s hand and said, “the best days of his life were with you.” When Hunith passed, Arthur gripped her hand tighter than she held his. And with her dying breath, she looked past his shoulder and smiled. “He’s always right beside you, my boy. Always.”

_Missing me?_

Arthur’s eyes widen as he hears that voice. It can’t be.

_It’s me, you great dollophead. Look up._

He does, and finds Merlin. It’s Merlin, standing right in front of Arthur, not even an arm’s length away.

“M-M-Merlin?” His voice is so soft; he can barely tell if he said it out loud.

He watches Merlin, _his Merlin_ , smile and lean down to wipe away the tears that are falling from his eyes.

 _I miss you,_ he says, and when he leans down to press his lips, _oh God, his lips_ , to Arthur’s cheek, he feels sparks.

He lets out a quiet sob, but when he opens his eyes, oh how he wishes he never opened them, Morgana is in front of him, eyes clouded with tears but embedded with concern.

“Arthur? Are you okay?”

He looks around the room to see if Merlin is lurking anywhere, but all he finds is his family staring at him, worry seeping into their faces. So he puts on a smile.

“Sorry. Just a bit tired, is all.”

He sees Morgana look at Leon, and sees him nod to her.

“Come walk us out. Mordred has a math test tomorrow, so we have to get going.”

Arthur gets up from his chair and swings an arm around his grandson. “You didn’t study a wink, did you?” he whispers.

Mordred gives him a sheepish grin and Arthur laughs. “You’ll be fine. Don’t tell your mother this, but she’s actually very smart. She chewed up math like a dog to bones. You’re smarter than you think you are, but that doesn’t mean letting up on your homework, boy,” he says as he ruffles his hair.

“I won’t, Grandpa. See you later,” he says as he runs to the car. Arthur gives Freya a kiss on the cheek and squeezes Morgana’s shoulder before she turns to follow Mordred.

“Arthur, what’s wrong?”

Arthur drops his head and contemplates telling her the truth, but he knows that she’ll be more worried than she needs to be.

“I’m fine, Morgana. I’m just t—”

“Don’t say it. I’ve known you too long to know that this is more than you being tired.”

He sighs. “I-it’s Merlin. I missed him tonight.”

He looks up at Morgana and sees tears start to form.

“Don’t cry, love. I’m fine. I just—I just wish he was here to see all of this, you know? To see you and Freya, Leon. To see our grandkids. He’d love to be here at Mithian’s first birthday. The first girl in a group of boys. He would’ve been so proud. He’d be so happy.”

“I know, Arthur. I know. I miss him too. There are days where I wish he was here to tell me I’m doing a good job with Mordred, with Freya. To tell me that I’m doing right by my family. To tell him thank you for giving me a chance at life. I wish—”

He grabs Morgana’s face in his hands. “Morgana, he would be so proud of you. I’m proud of you. The way you’ve raised Mordred, it’s like he’s your own son. I don’t think he could be any happier than he is now. And the way Freya looks at you hasn’t changed since you were young. You’re glowing, Morgana. You’re doing marvelous. I’m sure Merlin’s found Uther and they’re both competing over who’s more proud of whom.”

She snorts at that, but holds her brother’s face in her hands too.

“Thank you, Arthur.”

He smiles at her and kisses her forehead.

“Go. You don’t want to keep them waiting for too long.”

She kisses his cheek, and as he watches them drive away, Arthur feels the ghost of a hand fall to his and entwine his fingers with a familiar touch.

***

Arthur’s tucked in his grandkids and said goodnight to Sefa before he made his way down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water before bed. He’s just picked up a cup from the cabinet when he sees Leon walk in, looking more tired than he has all evening.

“What’s wrong, Leon?”

His son looks up at him, and Arthur marvels at how much he sees himself in his son. The way he holds himself, his jaw line, his eyes. Even his mannerisms don’t differ that much, he thinks as he gives Arthur the same calculating stare he gives everyone before telling the truth. Only to end up spouting out a lie.

“Well, I—”

“And don’t even think about lying to me,” Arthur says as he pours himself some water.

He hears Leon chuckle, and when he looks up, his eyes are clouded with glass.

He walks up to his son and throws his arm around his shoulders. “Step into my office,” Arthur says as he guides their way into his bedroom.

He puts his water on the bedside table and motions for Leon to sit down.

“What’s going on?”

He sees a crack in Leon’s face, and he immediately grabs his shoulders and leans his body towards himself so Leon’s forehead is resting on his left shoulder. And sure enough, Leon starts crying.

Arthur rubs his hand up and down Leon’s back not saying a word, just letting him let go. It’s maybe ten minutes before Leon sits up straight and tells him what’s wrong.

“Am I a bad father?” and his face is so open, so vulnerable, so _distraught_ , that Arthur starts tearing up as well.

“No! Leon, how could you think that? How could you possibly think that of yourself?”

“Adam and Gilli. They keep getting called into the principal’s office. I went myself last week because Sefa had a client she had to meet, but the principal basically said to me that children act out because of the lack of a father figure. And I told—”

Arthur gasped at that statement, full of anger at the principal and was about to go off on him, when he thought about Merlin. And he smiled.

“—wasn’t. I asked the boys and they said…why are you smiling?”

“Do you remember your first day at preschool?”

Leon’s eyebrows creased. “No…why?”

“It was a year before I got my promotion to become CEO of the company. They fired my working partner, so I had double the amount of work and couldn’t come to pick you up and had you at the afterschool care until I could. When I got there around 7pm, you had torn up half the room, and I swear to God, Leon, all of the teachers were hiding behind a desk from you.”

They both laughed.

“Sounds like something I would do,” Leon said.

Arthur chuckled. “When I asked them what happened, they said they had no idea. That you randomly just started throwing crayons and pencils and papers at the teachers. And when I asked you what happened, you said they were not nice because they were bad-mouthing somebody, but you never told me who it was about.”

He saw Leon pink.

“Merlin told me who.”

Arthur felt the bed jolt when Leon did. “What?”

“A couple of months after he started watching you, he mentioned that the reason you hated all of the babysitters that came to watch you was because they were bad-mouthing me over the phone or to themselves. He said that you trusted him because he seemed like someone who gives people a chance before he starts bad-mouthing them.”

Arthur laughed as Leon went as red as a lobster. But he put his palm to his son’s cheek and continued.

“Before Merlin told me, I thought I was a terrible father. I felt so—I felt terrible about leaving you in the care of others when the only thing I wanted to do was to be there with you. I thought you were acting up because I wasn’t there for you. And that scared me. But Merlin told me, and I—laughed. I laughed so hard because in that moment I realized I was a bad father.”

Leon’s eyes snapped to his, and his mouth opened in protest, but Arthur shook his head.

“In what universe do I deserve a son who stood up for me because people talked behind my back?” Arthur shook his head. “Merlin helped me see that everyone is a bad father, Leon. I didn’t raise you perfectly, but still, you turned out to be so noble that you tried to _protect your father_ against the world. _That_ is how I know that you are a great father, Leon. That’s how I knew you were a great person.”

“Dad, I—”

“You’re selling yourself short, Leon. And if I’m not mistaken, Sefa doesn’t know about any of this?”

Arthur watches as streams fall down Leon’s face as he shakes his head.

“Talk to her. She’s there for you. Not everyone is so lucky to have that.”

Arthur lets his tears fall as soon as Leon’s sobs drown out the sound of his sniffling. He pulls his son to his chest, and they both cry. They cry for each other, for their loves, and for their family while there’s a presence Arthur can sense, hanging around both of them as if it’s hugging them tighter. And when they break apart, the presence lingers as if it never wanted to let go.

***

They’ve finished a bottle of wine by the time Leon turns to leave is room. They talked about everything and nothing, happy and sated from their cry. Before Leon opens the door, though, he walks back to Arthur and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“I meant to ask you before. What happened earlier at the party? Morgana told me you were missing Merlin, but I know that’s not all. I know what you’re like when you’re missing him. You sit in your chair and smile like a soppy teenager.”

“Leon—”

“No, dad. You were as white as a ghost. What happened?”

He looked up at his son and smiled as he told him the truth. He realized, suddenly, that Leon was the only one to ever know anything but the truth.

“I saw Merlin. I-I saw him. He was right in front of me, Leon. He wiped my tears and called me dollophead. He called me doll-dollophead! I saw him! He—he was right there. Right next to me, being his cheeky self. And he kissed me. He kissed my cheek. He was here. Right here!”

Leon’s arms are around him before he’s even done talking, and though his tears are on the verge, they don’t fall. He stares at the table, and at the book by the lamp. It’s the book Merlin gave to him, and he reads it every night before he sleeps. At least ten pages. When Leon looks at him, his eyes are red and there’s worry in them as if Arthur is the child. He smiles at his son and kisses his cheek.

“I’m fine, Leon. I just really miss him.”

Leon keeps staring, though, as if he’s going crazy.

“Leon, I’m not going crazy. I promise. Please go to bed. Don’t you have a surgery tomorrow morning?”

He sighs, but gets up reluctantly.

He walks outside, and before he shuts the door to Arthur’s room, Arthur says, “I love you, Leon. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I love you too, dad.” And with a sparkle of his eyes, Arthur’s left alone.

He goes through his normal routine of washing his face and teeth before he changes into his pajamas and slips inside the bed. He grabs Merlin’s book, but a hand on his shoulder stops him; the same presence as before. He turns around and sees his eyes again.

“Merlin.”

His cheeky grin grows as Arthur turns towards him.

Merlin’s fingers are trailing his face, and Arthur’s eyes flutter close as they cross his lips.

 _You haven’t changed,_ Merlin says.

Arthur snorts. “I’m 64-years-old, Merlin. Of course I’ve changed.”

_Yeah, well you’re still a dollophead._

“I thought Leon and I told you to stop making up words.”

_Well, you’re not here to control me, are you?_

Arthur blanches, eyes shooting wide open, and nearly stops breathing as it hits him. He's not with Merlin. “That’s—Merlin, that's not fair, Merlin.”

 _Hey, hey. It’s okay,_ he says as he wipes away Arthur’s tears again.

Arthur lets out a sob as he turns into Merlin's arms, trying to grasp any warmth he can find. “I—I miss you so much, Merlin. I j—I just want to be with you.”

He hears Merlin inhale softly, but can feel his mouth curve into a small smile.

_Do you want to come with me?_

Arthur’s eyes open—but why do they keep closing—as he sees Merlin stand up. He gets out of bed and follows him so Merlin is back up against a wall.

“I can come with you?”

~

It’s said that people know when they’re about to pass. Now, to each person, it might be different. They may have visions, a sense of calm, or something ethereal that helps them move on from this life to the next. Or that when the time comes, they’re not scared, but welcome death with open arms. That they have a messenger to guide them to an eternal resting place.

As he stares into blue spheres of light, Arthur can only say that people are right. He’s calm, not afraid, and he even welcomes death as it comes to him in the form of a tall, pale figure, beautiful from the inside out with the wings of a butterfly. As he smiles at Arthur, blue eyes radiating, he holds out his hand and winks. The mischievous little fucker. And it’s all Arthur can do before he jumps into the arms of the man he loves—the man he never thought he’d see again.

_Come with me, love. Come with me, but we’ll never leave, you and I._

~

“Time of death: 3:39am. Cause of death: cardiac arrest”

“You took his heart, Merlin. You always had his heart.”

And at the funeral, Leon cries. But he cries because they’re together. Fucking finally.

*******

**3 years later**

Leon watches Gilli and Adam chase Mithian around the backyard with the rubber snake they bought at the zoo today. He guesses they found out that the Scare Monster wasn’t real, because they’ve been at it for the past hour. He snorts as he remembers how excited his father was about the idea—to come up with a monster to have his boys stop bullying his classmates. The surprising part is, it worked. Gilli and Adam don’t scare kids at school anymore. Not even his parents. They’ve taken to torturing poor Mithian. But Leon smiles as he feels his wife’s belly against his back; Mithian will have help soon.

“Should we call them in?” Sefa says against his neck.

“I’ll worry about the kids. I know you have your yoga class tomorrow, so go to bed. I’ll be up in an hour.”

She turns him around so they can kiss properly. Not dirty enough for the kids, but just enough so he can try to maybe make it up there in half an hour. She smiles when they pull apart, smirking as she makes her way upstairs.

“I love you,” he tells her.

“I love you,” she says back.

And with that, he’s outside, calling his children to go and get ready for bed or else they won’t be travelling with him to the amusement part tomorrow. He laughs as they all attack him for a hug before they run upstairs, yelling and screaming about who gets the bathroom first.

He turns around and looks at his garden. He needs to tend to his pink roses and tulips, but the azaleas and daffodils look good. He looks closer to the daffodils when he sees a butterfly—a monarch butterfly—shoot out from nowhere. And from his right, the azaleas sprout out a blue butterfly. Leon takes a few steps back as he watches them fly to meet in the center of the red that’s falling from the sky. And in that moment, he sees two figures. A blond and a brunette, standing side by side, fingers intertwined between each other. He looks up and sees the blond—his father, it’s his _father_ —as he was when he was young, head resting on Merlin’s shoulder. They’re immortal.

“Daddy? Merlin?”

The ghosts smile, but their emotions are not at all ghostly. They radiate around the garden, giving off a glow, a warmth that Leon feels in his bones.

_We love you, Leon._

_We miss you, little man._

“I—I love you both. So much.”

Leon watches as diamonds fall from the ghosts, and with a kiss to his dad’s head, they’re gone, flying away into the close of the day. But no, they’re not gone.

 

They’ll see each other again.

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON’T HATE ME! Again, I really felt like I had to make a happy ending, even though killing Arthur wasn’t happy, it made me happy that they were together in the end 3 I hate love, but I love it so much. UGH. Anyway, thanks for reading along! And if I’ve said/done anything to offend anyone, please let me know and I’ll try to correct it as soon as I can! Thank you again for all the love! <333


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